Is Your Dog House Legal?

The law requires provision of "sufficient" shelter in order to maintain an animal in a state of good health.
- Use hard plastic or painted wood (metal rusts and conducts heat and cold). Make sure it does not leak and it faces south in winter, north in summer.
- Raise the house off the ground several inches.
- Put a flap over the door (old rug or rubber mat with strips cut vertically).
- The roof should extend 8" over the door to help keep the rain out.
- Use straw, newspaper or cedar shavings for bedding; nail a strip of wood at the bottom of the doghouse door to keep them from spilling out. Don't use rags or rugs, they absorb water and can freeze.
- Put water in a sturdy, tip resistant bowl or bucket inside a rubber tire to prevent tipping, and check for freezing several times a day during winter.